IOF Kills Two Palestinian Civilians in Gaza and Hebron
International Press Center, April 13, 2003
GAZA STRIP, Palestine, April 13, 03, IPC- - One Palestinian civilian has died early Sunday of wounds he sustained when the Israeli warplanes raided Al Zaitoon neighborhood, eastern Gaza Strip on the 8th of April, 03. Fady Towtah, 18, was severely wounded with shrapnel in different parts of his body as Israeli warplanes fired a number of missiles against Al Zaitoon neighborhood, eastern Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources said.

Boy Killed After Being Hit by a Jewish Settler’s Car
Palestine Media Center, April 14, 2003
Israeli Settlers Have More 10,000 Weapons -- A young Palestinian boy was killed north of the West Bank town of Hebron on Sunday after being hit by a car driven by Israeli settlers, Palestinian medics and Israeli police said. Doctors at Ahli hospital in Hebron said Mohamed Ahmed Mahdi, 11, died shortly after arriving at the hospital from wounds sustained when the car hit him.

Israeli report clears troops over US death
The Guardian, April 14, 2003
An Israeli army investigation into the death of Rachel Corrie, an American peace activist, has concluded that its forces were not to blame for her death. It accused Corrie and other members of the International Solidarity Movement of "illegal, irresponsible and dangerous" behaviour.

ISM Rejects Israeli Investigation into Death of US Peace Activist
Palestine Media Center, April 14, 2003
The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) rejected an Israeli army investigation into the death of American peace activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed to death by an Israeli army bulldozer while trying to prevent it from demolishing Palestinian houses in Rafah, which concluded that its forces were not to blame for the incident.

IOF Dynamites a House in Hebron and Arrests 11 in the West Bank
International Press Center, April 14, 2003
NABLUS, Palestine, Monday 14 April 03,( IPC+WAFA)- Israeli occupation forces (IOF)dynamited Monday a Palestinian owned house in Hebron town of Dora, Palestinian security sources said.

'Road map' may be delayed as Arafat rejects cabinet list
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat has rejected a reformist cabinet proposed by incoming Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), a step which may delay and further complicate efforts to launch the internationally sponsored "road map" for Middle East peace.

Three ministers refuse to join Abbas's cabinet
Jordan Times, April 14, 2003    
Saeb Erakat, Yasser Abed Rabbo, Mohammad Dahlan, key Arafat loyalists refuse to participate to new cabinet. -- RAMALLAH, West Bank - Three senior Palestinian officials, known for their loyalty to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, are refusing to join the new cabinet lineup proposed by moderate prime minister Mahmud Abbas, Palestinian officials said Sunday.

Sharon 'softens stance on Palestine'
The Guardian, April 14, 2003
He qualified his commitment to abandon settlements by making clear that Israel would not have to deal with the issue until the final stage of negotiations. Mr Sharon also said that Palestinians could not be granted the "right of return" to areas settled within the original 1948 borders of Israel. -- Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, gave his strongest indication yesterday that he expected to see a Palestinian state and was willing to evacuate controversial settlements to achieve peace.

PNA Rejects Sharon’s Changes to ‘Roadmap,’ Giving Up Right of Return 
Palestine Media Center, April 14, 2003 
April 14, 2003 - The Palestine National Authority (PNA) on Sunday refused Israeli suggested amendments to the internationally - drafted “roadmap” to peace in the Middle East, rejected Israel’s demand to give up the right of return of Palestinian refugees and warned the US administration against giving in to Israeli terms and conditions.

Israeli army 'targeted' peace activist
The Independent, April 13, 2003
Parents of injured British student demand investigation into 'deliberately reckless actions' -- The parents of a British student shot in the head by Israeli troops yesterday accused the Israeli government of "deliberate recklessness". Tom Hurndall, 21, is in a critical condition in Bir Sheva hospital and may be brain damaged after being shot by a sniper on Friday.

Water Resources of Gaza Strip is in Jeopardy due to Israeli Practices
International Press Center, April 13, 2003
Palestinian Agricultural Ministry has recently released a report on the Israeli attacks against the Palestinian agricultural sector from September 28, 2000 to February 28, 2003. The report revealed the following: 213 water wells including 203 in Gaza Strip have been destroyed. 12249 dunums of water networks including 11392 in Gaza Strip have been razed. 792 water tanks and water concentration pools including 789 in Gaza Strip have been destroyed. 343995 cubic meters of water including 341095 in Gaza Strip have been destroyed.

Mofaz: Israel to deliver list of demands to Syria through the US
Al-Bawaba, April 14, 2003
Israel intends to deliver a list of demands to Syria through the United States, including ousting Hizbullah fighters from southern Lebanon and expelling Palestinian groups from Damascus, Israel's defense minister said in remarks published Monday.

Expulsions of illegal foreign workers up 160% to 5,029 in 2002
Globes, April 14, 2003
The government plans to expel 26,000 in 2003. -- 5,029 illegal foreign workers were expelled from Israel in 2002, compared with 1,915 in 2001, a 160% increase, according to Ministry of Social Affairs figures. The government was informed yesterday that 40,000 foreign workers had voluntarily left Israel last year. Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zevulun Orlev welcomed the news, saying he regarded the replacement of foreign workers as an important means of reducing unemployment.

Barghouti denied request to absent himself from courtroom
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
Tel Aviv District Court yesterday rejected Marwan Barghouti's request to absent himself from the courtroom during his trial on charges of orchestrating terror activities that killed 26 Israelis. The three-judge panel ruled, however, that the law requires him to remain present in the courtroom because he is not cooperating with his attorneys.

British foreign sec'y calls Sharon 'man of his word'
Jerusalem Post, April 14, 2003
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw expressed confidence that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is serious about withdrawing from what the BBC described as "some of the illegal settlements." Interviewed from Bahrain on Monday, Straw said he believed that Sharon "is actually a man of his word.

PNIC: “ Palestinian Economy Loses $12 Billion In 30 Months”
International Press Center, April 14, 2003
GAZA, Palestine, April 14, 2003 (IPC Exclusive)-- According to the Palestine National Information Centre (PNIC) of the State Information Service, the Palestinian economy losses during March 31, 2004 are estimated at $12 billions.

IDF tank fire leaves international peace activist in a coma 
Haaretz, April 14, 2003  
A British peace activist was seriously injured by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip on Friday. Witnesses said Tom Hurndall, 21, was trying to save two children from Israeli gunfire when a tank fired a shot that pierced his skull.

British mother asks Israelis: Was my son shot deliberately?
International Solidarity Movement, April 13, 2003
The family of a British peace protester, shot by an Israeli sniper as he shielded three young children, claimed yesterday that he appeared to have been deliberately targeted for assassination.

Foreign Pacifists Say They Became Israeli Army Targets
Islam Online, April 14, 2003
RAFAH, Gaza Strip, April 13 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The parents of a British student shot in the head by Israeli troops accused the Israeli government of "deliberate recklessness". Tom Hurndall, 21, may be brain damaged after being shot by a sniper, was rendered clinically dead in Bir Sheva hospital.

AP's Ibrahim Barzak adopts IDF version of events on Rachel Corrie's killing
Palestine Media Watch, April 14, 2003
Last week, PMWATCH issued an action call pointing to the Associated Press's shoddy work in covering the violence by the Israeli army against members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), one of whose members, Rachel Corrie from Olympia Washington, was killed by a house-demolition bulldozer, another American citizen, Brian Avery, was shot in the face and critically wounded, and a third, Thomas Hurndall, a Briton, now lies brain dead.

Palestinian killed in West Bank  
Haaretz, April 14, 2003  
A Palestinian youth was killed yesterday by the Israel Defense Forces in the West Bank town of Dahariya, south of Hebron. The IDF said it was investigating the incident. On Friday, seven Palestinians were injured when a helicopter opened fire with missiles in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian sources.

Breaking News: Palestinians Arrested in Nablus
International Press Center, April 14, 2003
10:50—Four Palestinian civilians were arrested by Israeli occupation forces in the the city of Nablus, (WAFA).

Israel kills two Palestinian civilians in Gaza and Hebron
Arabic News, April 14, 2003
One Palestinian civilian has died early Sunday of wounds he sustained when the Israeli warplanes raided Al Zaitoon neighborhood, eastern Gaza Strip on the 8th of April, 03.

FM Shalom: Syria undermining Middle East peace
Haaretz, April 14, 2003
ANKARA - Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, speaking on Monday after talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, accused Syria of undermining peace in the Middle East amid fears the U.S.-led war in the region could now spread to Iraq's neighbors.

PM to Haaretz: Eventually there will be a Palestinian state
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
Outside the bureau the usual spin is spun. There's no concern at all. Relations with George Bush are excellent. Mutual esteem, reciprocal fondness, joint credibility abound. So what's to be afraid of? There's no danger the "road map" will turn into a road trap. Anyway, Ariel Sharon is good at getting out of traps. It's his speciality, leading others into the traps he himself has eluded.

Cabinet hawks blast road map on eve of 'red line' talks in U.S.
Haaretz, April 13, 2003
On the eve of talks between a senior aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and the Bush administration over the road map peace proposal, cabinet hawks Sunday took the prime minister to task for statements made in a Ha'aretz interview, comparing Sharon's positions to those held by his dovish former foreign minister Shimon Peres.

PNA: We Want Actions not Words, and Sharon's Statements are not Taken Seriously
International Press Center, April 14, 2003
RAMALLAH, Palestine, April 13, 2003 (IPC + Agencies)-- Palestinian officials stressed today that they're more interested in actions rather than empty words, and that what's important now is the implementation of the "Road Map" plan. Palestinian minister of local government, Dr. Sa'eb Erekat, said that Sharon's statements about Israeli "painful concessions for peace" are only to camouflage what the Palestinians see as an Israeli refusal to a sovereign Palestinian state.

Arafat Receives Draft Cabinet Line-up, Three Veterans Decline Joining Government
Palestine Media Center, April 14, 2003
April 14, 2003 - Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has yet to endorse a draft proposal for a new cabinet presented to him Sunday by Prime Minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), as three veteran Palestinian cabinet ministers officially declined to join the new government.

Arafat rejects Abu Mazen cabinet
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat last night rejected a reformist cabinet proposed by Prime Minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), with sources attending the Fatah Central Committee meeting where Abu Mazen presented his government saying Arafat called it "a direct provocation."

Power struggle in Palestinian cabinet
Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2003
Reformist Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has run into trouble forming a new cabinet after three ministers loyal to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat refused to sign up, sparking a power struggle that could delay key reforms.

Sharon and Arafat's common danger
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
Is it possible Sharon prefers an Arafat irrelevant to the war on terror over an Abu Mazen who is relevant to giving up Beit El? A hint of the answer to that riddle can be found in the panic in the Prime Minister's Office over the possibility that President Bush would publish the road map.

Analysis / Two-step deception
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
A foreign statesman who recently held a long conversation with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was asked afterward if he had the impression that Sharon would be ready for a deal with the Palestinians that would involve Israeli concessions. "Not a chance," said the statesman. "Sharon believes security depends on holding onto the territories."

Mideast Sides Maneuver, Expecting New Peace Effort
New York Times, April 14, 2003
JERUSALEM, April 13 — Anticipating a renewed push by the Bush administration for Middle East peace as the war in Iraq winds down, each of the adversaries here worked today to strengthen its diplomatic footing.

Arafat “not happy” with new proposed cabinet
Al-Bawaba, April 14, 2003
Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat has yet to endorse a draft proposal for a new cabinet presented to him Sunday by Prime Minister-designate Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), as three veteran Palestinian cabinet ministers officially declined to join the new government.

Arafat Holds Up New Palestinian Cabinet
The Guardian, April 14, 2003
JERUSALEM (AP) - Incoming Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas set out his list of Cabinet ministers, expecting quick approval to trigger the presentation of a U.S.-backed peace plan, but opposition to some of his choices emerged Monday.

New Palestinian government almost ready 
Alternative Information Center/Al-Ayyam, April 14, 2003 
Palestinian sources said that the newly appointed Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is putting the final touches on the new government formation, which he will preset to the Palestinian Legislative Council for a confidence vote. According to sources, only Finance Minister Salam Fayyad and Education Minister Na'eem Abu el-Humos will remain serving in their old ministries.

5,029 illegal workers deported in 2002
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
Israel deported 5,029 foreign workers without valid working visas last year - about 3.6 percent of the entire illegal foreign work force in Israel. According to figures released yesterday by the Labor Ministry, this is the largest number of deportations since foreign workers began arriving here a decade ago.

Occupation Chronicle Events in Palestine April 14, 2003
Palestine Media Center, April 14, 2003
A Palestinian boy was killed after he was hit by an Israeli settler’s car, near the southern West Bank city of Hebron as Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) demolished a Palestinian house in Doura village, near Hebron, and detained at least eighteen Palestinians in the West Bank.

Open air exhibition of apartheid wall destruction: with and on the land of affected farmers of Mas'ha 
Alternative Information Center/IWPS, April 13, 2003 
On Sunday, April 13th, Palestinian farmers from Mas ha and other Palestinian communities, in cooperation with Israeli and international peace activists, have created an exhibit to illustrate the devastation caused by the Apartheid Wall and to show how it affects the lives of Palestinians in the Salfit governorate.

ICRC activities in Israel, the occupied and the autonomous territories, March 31 - April 6
Alternative Information Center/ICRC, April 13, 2003 
In Israel, the Occupied and the Autonomous Territories (IL/OT/AT), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) works towards ensuring the faithful application of international humanitarian law (IHL), and above all the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the protection of civilians in times of war and occupation.

Behind The Barrier: Human Rights Violations As a Result of Israel's Separation Barrier - Summary
B'tselem, April 2003
In June 2002, the government of Israel decided to erect a barrier along the entire West Bank to separate Israel and the West Bank in order to prevent the uncontrolled entry of Palestinians into Israel. To date, the government has directed the construction of only some 190 kilometers. According to the Ministry of Defense, the first 145 kilometers (Stage 1) are to be operational by July 2003. Most of the barrier's route in Stage 1 passes through the West Bank. As a result, the barrier will likely infringe the human rights of more than 210,000 Palestinians residing in sixty-seven villages, towns, and cities.

Italian PM Berlusconi to promote Middle East ‘Marshall Plan’
Globes, April 14, 2003 
“Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will promote his ‘Marshall Plan’ to rebuild the Palestinian economy and spur regional cooperation,” Italy’s Ambassador to Israel Giulio Terzi said last Monday. He was speaking at a ceremony for Italian and Israeli companies excelling in bilateral trade.

Military trial today for draft refuseniks
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
Five of the 12th graders who signed a letter refusing to serve in the Israel Defense Forces because they oppose the occupation, will tomorrow be tried by a military court. Hagai Matar, Matan Kaminer, Shimri Tsameret, Adam Maor and Noam Bahat have asked to do three years of community service instead.

IDF takes control of seam-line security
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
From yesterday, the IDF rather than the police became responsible for securing the seam line between the center of Israel and the territories, under instructions from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. However, most patrols will still be carried out by the border police, who are part of the Israel Police.

Ran Cohen accused of incitement against settlers
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
The new Yesha lobby leader in the Knesset, MK Yehiel Hazan (Likud), accused a parliamentary colleague from Meretz, Ran Cohen, of incitement against settlers, for complaining yesterday that settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have more than 10,000 weapons.

Not Again / More Blood in Rafah / Wake Up, Israelis / Ghassan Andoni on the Shooting of Tom Hurndall
International Solidarity Movement, April 12, 2003
1) Not Again, by Joe Smith, 2) More Blood in Rafah, by Starhawk, 3) Wake Up Israelis, by Ghassan Andoni -- Update of Tom’s condition: At the moment there is nothing new to report. Tom’s  condition is critical. His friends are with him at the hospital and his parents are on the way. The British Embassy will pick his parents up at the airport very early tomorrow morning and bring them to the hospital in Be’er Sheva.  Our prayers are with him and his family.

Fatah party in Jenin vows to pursue armed resistance
Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2003
The local branch of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah party in Jenin, in the northern West Bank, has vowed to pursue "heroic and suicide operations".

Passover bombers jailed for life
Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2003
Four Palestinians, found guilty of organising last year's Passover suicide bombing in Netanya, were sentenced by an Israeli military court to 29 life sentences each. Some judges argued they should have received the death penalty.

Israeli settler gets 5 years for selling IDF ammo to Palestinian
Jerusalem Post, April 14, 2003
The Jerusalem District Court sentenced an Israeli resident of the West Bank settlement of Adora to five years in prison for selling ammunition to a Palestinian.

Israeli witnesses spar with Barghouthi in court
Jordan Times, April 14, 2003   
TEL AVIV (R) — Israeli witnesses testified against Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouthi for the first time on Sunday and engaged in shouting matches with him over attacks and occupation.

LAW Weekly Roundup 3 April - 9 April 2003
LAW Society
Israeli troops killed 18 Palestinians during the week covered by this roundup....Excessive use of force / 19 Palestinian schoolchildren wounded / Extra judicial execution / Shelling / Incursions into Palestinian areas / Detention and maltreatment / Collective punishment / Al-Shawamri’s home demolished for the 4th time / Violating the right to freedom of self-expression

Coalition Says It Will Fight Local Pursuit of Immigrants
New York Times, April 14, 2003
WASHINGTON, April 13 — A coalition of immigration advocacy groups is challenging the Justice Department's decision to allow state and local police departments to pursue illegal immigrants as part of the war on terror. Taking on a job traditionally done by federal agents, a small number of police departments has begun arresting people accused of civil violations of immigration law, like overstaying visas, since the Justice Department announced its new interpretation of existing laws last year, officials say.

Chemical groups face apartheid lawsuits
New York Times, April 14, 2003
Big international chemical companies including DuPont, Bayer and Lilly face lawsuits seeking compensation for victims of the apartheid regime in South Africa. The investigation into the companies' alleged complicity with the former white minority regime was nearly complete and some of them could be served papers this week, said people close to the victims' lawyers. The companies are suspected of supplying the apartheid regime with defoliants such as Agent Orange, used in the 1980s in the war against Namibia, Angola and Mozambique as well as against the underground army of the now-ruling African National Congress.

Iraq War News

Three weeks on, and still no water. Now doctors fear an epidemic
The Guardian, April 14, 2003
Lack of security holds up agencies -- Doctors in Iraq's second biggest city, Basra, yesterday warned of an epidemic as a majority of the 1.3 million residents were still without safe drinking water three weeks after the war began.

Anti-US protest in Baghdad
Al-Jazeera, April 14, 2003
A noisy crowd of Iraqis gathered around Baghdad’s Palestine Hotel and raised anti-American slogans on Sunday, signaling that the popular mood in the besieged capital was fast turning against the US troops. Fed up with the anarchy and looting as also the breakdown of essential services ever since the start of the war, the protestors yelled that the US troops were doing nothing to help restore normal life in the city.

Prisoners Riot at Main US POW Camp
Arab News, April 14, 2003
UMM QASR, 14 April 2003 — Hurling rocks, bottles filled with sand and wooden stakes, detainees at the only permanent US prisoner-of-war camp in Iraq riot almost daily, military officials said yesterday.

US blamed for failure to stop sacking of museum
The Independent, April 14, 2003
The United States was fiercely criticised around the world yesterday for its failure to protect Baghdad's Iraq National Museum where, under the noses of US troops, looters stole or destroyed priceless artefacts up to 7,000 years old.

Baghdad Library In Flames, Oil Stations ‘Safe’
Islam Online, April 14, 2003
BAGHDAD, April 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – As free-for-all looting and sabotage swept many Iraqi cities over the past days, Iraq's National Library was in flames late Sunday, April 13, after being ransacked by looters under the watchful eye of U.S. Marines, who were heavily guarding Kirkuk's oil and gas facilities, as the area contains about a third of Iraq's oil.

Baghdad Seethes With Anger Toward U.S.
New York Times, April 14, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- At first they cheered, smiled, offered hearty thumbs-ups to the U.S. soldiers newly in their midst. But across Iraq's lawless capital, that sentiment is evaporating as quickly as Saddam Hussein's government melted away. Baghdad was bursting with anti-American feeling Saturday as residents saw their city being stripped by its own citizens while U.S. forces stood by, rarely intervening and in some cases even motioning treasure-laden men through checkpoints.

Relief for hospitals frustrated by wary US military
Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2003
Military restrictions, combined with the dangerous and lawless atmosphere in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities, have severely limited the ability of aid agencies to provide relief. In Kuwait and Jordan, hundreds of aid workers have been waiting for three weeks to cross the border into Iraq.

Lead cleric threatened by radicals
The Guardian, April 14, 2003
Violence as Shias fight for supremacy -- Iraq's holy city of Najaf descended into violent feuding yesterday when an armed radical group surrounded the home of a leading Shia cleric and ordered him to leave the country by today.

Tensions boil over between Kurds and Arabs in north
The Independent, April 14, 2003
At least eight people were killed in gun battles between Iraqi Kurds and Arab tribes south of Kirkuk yesterday as Arabs in northern Iraq become increasingly nervous of the Kurdish advance south.

Iran troops and rebel mujahideen clash in Iraq
Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2003
An Iranian opposition group based in Iraq has lost 10 of its fighters in clashes with Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards who crossed into Iraq, where the group is based. The People's Mujahideen said that Iran's Supreme National Security Council had ordered its revolutionary guards, intelligence forces and mercenaries to attack the group.

Despite insecure conditions, UN to dispatch international relief staff to Iraq
Arabic News, April 14, 2003
Despite the dangers in Iraq posed by widespread looting and instability, the United Nations plans to send international aid workers into the country early next week, a senior UN official reported Saturday.

Israel to U.S.: Now deal with Syria and Iran
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
Two of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's senior aides will go to Washington for separate talks this week. National Security Advisor Efraim Halevy will discuss the regional implications of the Iraq war and the fall of the Ba'ath regime, and the prime minister's bureau chief Dov Weisglass will bring Israel's comments on the "road map."

Powell Says U.S. Considering Sanctions Against Syria
New York Times, April 14, 2003
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will examine possible diplomatic or economic measures against Syria, which the United States suspects of developing chemical weapons, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday. "With respect to Syria, of course we will examine possible measures of a diplomatic, economic or other nature as we move forward," he told reporters after talks with Kuwait Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad al-Salem al-Sabah.

Bush turns his sights on Syria
Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2003
On the accusation of chemical weapons, Mr Moustapha said: "We will not only accept the most rigid inspection regime; we will welcome it heartily." -- Syria became the potential new flashpoint in the Middle East yesterday when the United States accused Iraq's neighbour of possessing weapons of mass destruction and harbouring fleeing members of Saddam Hussein's regime. The US President, George Bush, said "we believe there are chemical weapons in Syria" and his Administration claimed the country encouraged suicide bombers to attack allied forces in Iraq.

US attention turns to Syria
BBC, April 14, 2003
After the fall of Saddam Hussein, the United States is turning its attention to Syria. There are fears across the Arab world that one day American guns might be turned on Syria, too; and that, even if they are not, American policy will be directed towards reshaping the Arab world just as Britain and France did after World War I.

Straw says Damascus not next in line, unsure whether Syria has chemical weapons
Al-Bawaba, April 14, 2003
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Monday that London and the United States had no intention of attacking Syria after Iraq, but added that Damascus had "important questions" to answer.

Shock and Assad: In the next round of confrontation, what does Israel want to see Bush do with Syria? 
Haaretz, April 14, 2003 
As President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld took on Syria in an oratorical shock and awe campaign this week, Israel gave signs of what it would like to see the adminstration do to bring Damascus to heel, and what the Jewish state stands to gain from the effort.

Bush Doctrinaires: Analysts Point to Strong Signs America's War Machine Will Continue to Roll 
Common Dreams/Toronto Star, April 13, 2003
Thank God for Helen Thomas. She sits hunched over in the front row at White House press briefings and, as the slick boys and girls of the press corps respectfully clear their throats and try to catch Ari's eye, she goes in for the kill..."Is the president contemplating any other regime changes in the Middle East," she asked Bush spokesperson Ari Fleischer. "I mean ... there seems to be something in the air that he may not stop with Iraq." Bull's-eye!

Syrian Leader Discusses Iraqi Developments
Newsday, April 14, 2003
DAMASCUS, Syria -- The Syrian president met with British and Saudi envoys Monday, and the government denied charges by U.S. officials that Syria has weapons of mass destruction and is sheltering Iraqi leaders.

EU Urges U.S. To "Cool Down" Threats Against Syria
Islam Online, April 14, 2003
LUXEMBOURG , April 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – As the United States ratcheted up its bellicose rhetoric against Syria recently, the European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana urged Monday, April 14, the U.S. to "cool down" its "daily" threats against Iraq ’s western country.

Syria Has ‘Weapons Of Mass Destruction’: Bush
Islam Online, April 14, 2003
"We believe there are chemical weapons in Syria," Bush -- WASHINGTON, April 13 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - In a fresh escalating confrontation, the United States accused Syria Sunday, April 13, of possessing chemical weapons, charged that its nationals had engaged U.S. troops in Baghdad and warned against allowing senior Iraqi leaders to escape through its territory.

Al-Assad confers with De Villepin
Arabic News, April 14, 2003
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad received on Saturday French Foreign Minister Dominique De Villepin and the accompanying delegation. Talks during the meeting dealt with the current situations in Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories, Arab and world efforts exerted to restore the U.N role in Iraq.

Saudi FM makes unexpected visit to Syria
Middle East Online, April 14, 2003
DAMASCUS - Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal discussed Iraqi security and sovereignty Monday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during an impromptu visit to Damascus, the official SANA news agency said.

Sources: Abu Abbas flees from Baghdad, Syria refuses to allow him to enter
Al-Bawaba, April 13, 2003
Palestinian leader, Muhammad ‘Abbas (aka Abu Abbas) has fled from his home in Baghdad towards the Syrian border, Palestinian sources Sunday told Quds Press. According to these sources, the Syrian authorities refused to allow him to enter the Syrian territory.

And now for Mr Hyde
Al-Ahram Weekly On-line, 10 -16 April 2003
Saudis intensely worried that their erstwhile mighty protector, the US, is looking more and more as a grave threat -- You won't find the newly published Hatred's Kingdom in any Saudi bookshop, but it is so much in demand among high officials that the government has brought out a reprint of its own. Its author is Dore Gold, a hard- line Israeli spokesman; according to him, the "hatred" in question is rooted in that austere brand of Islamic orthodoxy, Wahhabism, to which Saudi Arabia officially subscribes, and it found its most horrific, world- shaking expression in the atrocity of 9/11.

Iraq on fast track for debt relief
The Guardian, April 14, 2003
British-brokered pact enables IMF and World Bank to lead recovery programme -- Iraq is to be put on a fast track for debt relief as part of a package to rebuild its shattered economy agreed after the world's leading nations stepped back from the brink of a damaging row over post-war economic reconstruction at the weekend.

St Petersburg talks call UN to administer Iraq
EU Observer, April 14, 2003
Vladimir Putin, Gerhard Schrφder et Jacques Chirac gathered over the weekend in Saint Petersburg and stressed again that the United Nations (UN) should have the central role in an Iraqi post-war administration. The leaders of Russia, Germany and France asked however that the chaos left after the fall of Saddam Hussein should be cleared first. The three countries have, since the beginning, been opposed to the war in Iraq.

Russia and Jordan join chorus of alarm
The Guardian, April 14, 2003
UK and US forces urged to protect citizens -- The US and British coalition in Iraq is coming under increasing international pressure to use its troops to maintain law and order and ensure that the civilian population receives enough humanitarian aid. Russia and Jordan have urged the coalition to act, while neighbouring Iran called on ordinary Iraqis to follow Islamic teachings to overcome the chaos in their country.

Coalition Controls All Iraqi Oil Fields
The Guardian, April 14, 2003
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar (AP) - All oil fields in Iraq now fall within areas controlled by the U.S. coalition, a U.S. general announced Monday.

U.S., Iraqis Begin Joint Baghdad Patrols
The Guardian, April 14, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - With looting already easing in Baghdad on Monday, Iraqis and U.S. troops began jointly patrolling the streets to quell the lawlessness that has engulfed the capital since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, the American military said.

America targeted 14,000 sites. So where are the weapons of mass destruction?
The Independent, April 13, 2003
They were the reason the United States and Britain were in such a hurry to go to war, the threat the rank-and-file troops feared most. And yet, after three weeks of war, after the capture of Baghdad and the collapse of the Iraqi government, Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction – those weapons that President Bush, on the eve of hostilities, said were a direct threat to the people of the United States – have still to be identified.

Exposed: Secret and macabre world of jail where thousands were killed
The Independent, April 14, 2003
Wednesday was the day for killing and Thursday was the day relatives paid to collect the bodies of the dead. How prisoners were executed depended on an order from above – a bullet to the back of the head for those deemed to deserve a degree of mercy and the rope for those destined to suffer.

Chalabi 'does not want role in Iraq government'
Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2003
Ahmed Chalabi, one of Iraq's best-known opposition leaders with strong support in the Pentagon, said in an interview published yesterday that he did not plan to play a political role in his homeland.

Financial scandal claims hang over leader in waiting
The Guardian, April 14, 2003
Pentagon's choice to succeed Saddam was found guilty over $200m bank losses -- Every day since he was secretly spirited into Iraq by the US military just over a week ago, Ahmed Chalabi, the man favoured by the Pentagon to succeed Saddam Hussein, has been holding court with local dignitaries in Nassiriya....In 1992, Mr Chalabi was tried in his absence and sentenced by a Jordanian court to 22 years' imprisonment on 31 charges of embezzlement, theft, misuse of depositor funds and currency speculation.

Paris Archbishop Shocked By Bush’s Prayers For Victory
Islam Online, April 14, 2003
PARIS, April 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Paris archbishop Jean-Marie Lustiger was shocked by U.S. President George W. Bush's calls for prayers for a U.S. victory in the Iraq war.

CNN armed guard returns fire at Tikrit
The Independent, April 14, 2003
CNN, the US cable news network, was accused of endangering the lives of journalists in Iraq after an armed guard travelling with one of its crews returned fire at a checkpoint outside Tikrit yesterday.

Protestors around the world demonstrate against occupation of Iraq
Al-Jazeera, April 14, 2003
Anti-war protestors have switched their focus from trying to end the war on Iraq, to now trying to prevent an occupation of Iraq. Thousands of protestors took to the streets on Saturday in cities around the world demonstrating against, “the new colonialism.”

Vermont peace groups planning transformation
Times Argus, April 13, 2003
Vermont peace activists say the end of the war won’t mean the end of their work. Grassroots groups from Brattleboro to Burlington already have plans to continue locally and statewide once the United States ends its invasion of Iraq. “Our focus in the future is to transform this peace movement into more of a political movement,” Donald Gray of Pittsfield said last week. “A lot of people have come together behind this issue in Vermont. I think we will become a strong force to be reckoned with.”

The voices of Arab culture
San Francisco Chronicle, April 14, 2003
Arts from ancient, diverse world stir interest in the West -- The war in Iraq has put a spotlight not just on Saddam Hussein but also on the whole Arab world. Close to 300 million people live in that world, and if you include the Arab diaspora -- those of Arab descent who make their home in the United States, England, France and other countries -- the numbers are much higher. Spread out across different continents, Arabs are united by an ancestral language (Arabic) and an ancestral homeland (the Arabian peninsula) that gave birth to a Semitic people who've changed the course of human history.

Moroccan-born US marine refuses to fight
Middle East Online, April 14, 2003
Younes Hansali who faces possible court-martial for refusing to fight Iraqis still has doubts about being in Baghdad. -- "The war is over. All I want now is to be able to help the Iraqis," said Moroccan-born Younes Hansali, a US marine caught in a dilemma over the Iraq war. A devout Muslim, Hansali said he did not want to kill.

In Spite of Iraqi Regime Fall, Anti-War Demonstrations Still Going Strong
Palestine Chronicle, April 13, 2003
WASHINGTON - Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched across Europe and the Americas Saturday to protest the Anglo-American invasion and occupation of Iraq, in spite of Saddam Hussein’s regime fall.